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Dealer Week, the annual conference and expo of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA), is moving online in 2020. The event will take place, as scheduled, Dec. 8-11, 2020, on the device of your choice, with a preview event slated for October and a series of educational webinars taking place, beginning in mid-September, available to all registered attendees. 

“Picking the right venue is crucial for a successful event, and this year it’s obvious that a great online platform — which we have found — is the best way to provide the insights, education and business solutions dealers need from Dealer Week,” said Mike Davin, Brand Director at the MRAA. “Dealer Week will connect dealers with solutions to the pain points and opportunities they face.”

Dealer Week 2020 will include opening and closing ceremonies, education sessions, partners and exhibits with business solutions, Q&As with the experts, roundtable discussions, awards presentations, networking and more.

“As we look ahead to 2021, dealers have a lot of unknowns about inventory levels, market conditions, sales and service demand, customer expectations and more,” explains Liz Walz, MRAA Vice President. “Dealers and their teams who participate in the Dealer Week education lineup will receive powerful tools to navigate the uncertainty and maximize their success, no matter what the market throws at them.”

As part of their Dealer Week registration, dealers will receive exclusive access to a preview event as well as a series of webinars hosted by the same trainers scheduled to appear at the event. Scheduled for Oct. 29, 2020, the preview event will allow registrants access to a VIP panel discussion with the three leading trainers who will host this year’s Dealer Week, as well as sneak peeks into the exhibit hall and networking opportunities you’ll experience at the event.

The webinars will take place most Wednesdays leading up to the event, beginning Sept. 16. The first session, titled “3 Ways to Start Turning Your Shop Inside Out,” features Valerie Ziebron of VRZ Consulting, who will also serve as one of three “Education Hosts” during Dealer Week. The next two webinars will feature the event’s other hosts, Sam Dantzler of Wheelhouse College and Jim Million of Million Learning. The webinar series offers dealers an opportunity to prepare themselves for success before the event, but they will also have the ability to continue learning after the closing ceremony because MRAA will make the webinars and all Dealer Week education sessions and exhibits available for event attendees to access through March 31, 2021.

For MRAA partners who support Dealer Week through an exhibit or sponsorship, the event platform offers a robust online exhibit opportunity that includes video, downloadable documents, video chat, meeting scheduling and more. Partners can engage in the education and contribute to the learning and conversations that take place through Dealer Week, making this event a strong contributor to marine industry success. Their exhibit and exposure through this event will remain active in the online platform through March 31. Those partners who support Dealer Week will have an opportunity to submit a 10-minute thought leader-style video, which will be shared with dealers who attend the event. Those companies who supported Dealer Week in 2019 and 2020 will also be able to lock in 2019 booth pricing for Dealer Week 2021.

“The 2020 selling season was turned on its head a couple times with the sudden slowdown and subsequent rapid acceleration of boat sales,” explains Matt Gruhn, MRAA President. “Dealer Week seeks to provide our dealers and our partners an opportunity to pause, collect themselves, plan for a strong year ahead, and collaborate on the collective success of our industry. And in this online format, Dealer Week becomes more accessible to more companies than ever before. We look forward to leading our industry with great confidence into the year ahead.”

Early Bird pricing for Dealer Week is $249 per person for MRAA Members and $349 per person for non-members. Prices increase to $299 and $399, respectively, after Oct. 31.

Originally slated to take place in Austin, Texas, the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact required MRAA to reschedule the in-person event for December 2021. More details will be shared soon.  

For more information and to register today, go to DealerWeek.com.